A method and a device for storing TOC (table of contents) information of a storage medium are known from the publication Patent Abstracts of Japan, Vol. 097, No. 008, Aug. 29, 1997 and JP 09106659A. The total number of music titles and the start/stop addresses of the music titles are stored in a run-in area of the storage medium in the form of TOC information. These addresses are provided in the form of a combination of multiple time units, namely minutes, seconds, and frames. Depending on the number of music titles stored on the storage medium, the addresses formed by the time units are stored more or less precisely in a read/write memory after inserting the storage medium designed as a compact disc into a player.
A method for playing CDs in a compact disc player, in which the time prior to starting the playback of a selected music title is shortened, is described in German Patent No. 38 07 181. A cumulative total time code recorded in the CD lead-in area is read out, and a predetermined code is detected during this read-out. If this predetermined code cannot be detected in the cumulative total time code, a frame calculation is carried out to tell the scanner to jump across the CD tracks and read out a different cumulative total time code, whereupon, after the predetermined code has been read out, necessary data is output from the lead-in area. According to a music selection method, only the total playback time and the total number of music titles are read out from the total time code. After selecting a specific music title, the system calculates an average time per music title from the total playback time and the total number of music titles, and the system searches for the selected music number according to the average time calculated in this manner. The CD player can therefore use a low-capacity memory and can thus be produced economically. According to the system, the scanner is also essentially moved to the position of the selected music title without reading out the addresses provided for the music titles recorded on the CD.